The Call to Freedom
by SaNdEr-ThE-rUbBeR-bAnDeR
Summary: When I wanted Love, I got Hate, When I needed a break, I got more Pain, In this world, everything's turned around, when you want to stay lost, you're gonna be found. [SasuSaku]
1. Not a Leaf Ninja

My Heart is only a shadow...

Ok!! brand new story cuz everyone (almost) wants sakura to go akatsuki but there are no goood fanfictions about it (or none that Ive found) so here we go!

* * *

Sakura ran. Her heart was pounding hard, she could hear it in her ears. There was an aching stitch in her side, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered.

Her breathing was cold and raw. She had been running for far too long. She must be well out of sunagakure by now.

It hurt to breathe, it hurt to think, it hurt to live...

Trees vanished on all sides. The speed was intense.

No one was following her, only her memories.

Only her vivid memories...and they were deadly.

She sucked in a painful breath that came out as a gasping sob.

Raising a hand to wipe away the tears that were blurring the edges of her vision, she tripped over a tree root that was coming out of the ground.

She gasped in surprise and reached for the tree to balance herself.

It seemed her spirit had kept running and only her body remained clinging to the great oak tree.

For a moment all was still she didn't even seem to be breathing. Time stood still, the wind stopped blowing the leaves.

There were no ripples on the nearby river and most of all, there was no sound. No sound at all.

Then her shoulders shook. The first sound that came back was her ragged breathing as she sank to her knees.

* * *

Flashback

Her eyes widened in horror. An entire academy class looked up at the ninja surrounding them.

"What do we do?" A ninja asked the commander.

"Heh." the female commander replied. "Isn't it obvious? If these kids head back they'll tell everyone we were here and when the next attack is."

"Yeah" said another ninja uncomfortably "but still..."

"they're just kids."

Just kids...

"So? Don't you remember what hokage-sama said?"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"He said we should cause terror in such a way that the people of sunagakure will never forget it and that no one will dare to rise up against the leaf."

The ninjas shifted guiltily trying to come to terms with their emotions.

"So, " said one "We're only tools after all..."

They stepped forward.

they're only kids...please..

All the children screamed and rushed away madly, trying to get away from them.

There was a swish of movement, and one child was caught, a kunai sliced open his jugular and his scream faded into a gurgle as he choked on his own blood.

please...

Tears ran down Sakura's eyes, she couldn't reveal herself, she couldn't move, she couldn't even breathe.

Screams of terror filled the air and bloody puddles covered the ground.

Oh, please... No...

Through her terror she faintly heard the voices...

"What will we do with the bodies?"

"Bury them?"

"That'll take too long. Leave them here, it will get the message across."

And they left.

Sakura felt herself drowning in blood, as sure as if she had killed them.

She ran, stumbled, and kept running.

End Flashback

* * *

She had been running for about two hours straight and now she stopped.

She bit her lip, trying to control her tears but there was no controlling them. They were like an ocean that had been pent up in a small space, ready for release.

There was no stopping them, and there was no end to them.

The leaf symbol on her forehead protector seemed to be burning a hole in her forehead.

"I'm ... not.." she said between sobs.

She hastily pulled the forehead protector off and pulled out a kunai.

"I'm not!" She shouted!

She struck the metal symbol,

The curse,

The Leaf.

"I'M NOT!" she shouted again striking harder.

"I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!"

Not a leaf ninja.

Not a murderer.

Not one of Danzo's henchmen.

I'm not one of them.

Not one of them.

"I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!

Tears flowed down her cheeks

"I'm not! Not... I'm not..."

Not one of them

Not one of them.

Not one of them.

Never. Not a leaf. No, no.

The sound of metal clanging against metal echoed through the woods.

She had stopped shouting now and bit her lip as she struck out with all her force, even as the tears continued to flow.

The leaf...

It had once meant so much...

Naruto...

Tsunade-Sama...

Sasuke-kun...

Sasuke-kun...

But Tsunade was dead and Danzo had taken over the government. Naruto had contested Danzo but the elders had been unwilling to let a Jinchuuriki take over.

Now everything was gone. With the beginning of Danzo's bloodthirsty reign, Sakura began to lose her identity...

She wasn't one of them, she wasn't...

Not a leaf, not a leaf...

But a ninja, yes she was a ninja.

So what was she? Should she join another village? No!

Never a village! Not where a solitary person can have so much power...

Her kunai clanged against the metal of her forehead protector.

Where someone can play God with other peoples lives...

Never...

She kept on her mindless work with all her energy trying to stop herself from thinking too hard about what she had seen...

Akatsuki...

The word came to her suddenly, and she stopped attacking her forehead protector in surprise.

Why not? They fought to free all ninjas from attachments to villages, that much had become clear.

And that was what she wanted too...

But they were the enemies of the Leaf...

She bit her lip in sudden determination...

That was EXACTLY what she wanted.

Her eyes were on her forehead protector the entire time, but for the first time she actually saw it.

The kunai had embedded deep scars on the metal, it was impossible to tell what the symbol had once been.

Well, that was the first step. It was nothing now, not leaf, not sand, not sound...Nothing.

A pure shadow that didn't come from any source. Herself unto herself. Just a Shadow.

"My heart has become a shadow... she whispered.

Clutching the forehead protector with the now blank symbol of metal scars, she succumbed to her exhaustion.

She leaned against the tree, making plans in her head as to how to reach them, how to persuade them to let her join.

Before she knew it, she was asleep.

Meanwhile...

* * *

Sasuke'sPOV

I stared at the ceiling and feelings I had destroyed long ago came back to me.

Protect...

It was an ancient feeling, but still so familiar. The feeling to protect them.

With Orochimaru dead, I really have no reason to stay in the sound. Technically though, I don't have a reason to go back either.

All I knew was what I had heard.

Tsunade was dead, an old militarist had taken over and under his leadership, The Leaf was becoming synonymous for villainy.

How Ironic.

Naruto and Sakura are not the kind of people who let things like this lie still.

That was what worried me...

There is a rebel group within Konoha that call them selves Shiroi Kanashimi.

White Pain. An interesting name. Its members are being hunted down daily, and once discovered, tortured and then put to death.

It sounds altogether far too much like a group Naruto and Sakura would join.

If they were killed in my absence wouldn't I be just as guilty as the people who had actually killed them?

Also, the Akatsuki had not been seen in a long while, It was said that they had acquired every bijuu except for the Kyuubi, which meant that if I wanted to face Aniki my best bet would be to go back to Konoha.

I sat up, The sun had set a few hours ago and the night was still young. If I was planning to leave, why not now?

As I looked out the window a full moon shone down on me. A moon of hope, it seemed.

Perhaps they're not dead, after all.

And if I arrive only to find their graves...

At least I can go pay my respects.

I Packed a few things and headed out the window, there was no point in wandering through the hallways and having someone find out and inform Kabuto.

Concentrating my chakra, I headed down the wall and remembered when we had studied chakra control with Kakashi by climbing trees.

Sakura had been the best at that.

Getting nostalgic, are we?

It didn't matter, I would only do what I had to do and that would be the end of it.

And if I happened to assassinate Danzo and stabilize the government on my way, then so be it.

I looked at the sky once more, the moon of hope was still shining brightly, I hoped it was a good omen.

Then I ran, because I had no time to lose, if I was going to do this I might as well do it right.

A jump landed me on a tree branch and I continued my journey from the treetops.

* * *

The moon in the sky seemed to be mocking Sakura.

She had only slept four hours, but it was enough for her.

Standing up, she began to walk.

There was no question of where she was headed, she would go wherever there was news of recent activity by the Akatsuki.

For now, this meant she was headed to the mist.

She tied her forehead protector on her forehead, the blankness resonating the emptiness inside of her, and continued walking, the medicines from the sand, long forgotten.

_I walk a lonely road  
The only one that I have ever known_

**There were no more tears in her heart, only silent determination.**

_  
Don't know where it goes  
But its home to me and I walk alone  
_

**She didn't need anyone for this, not Naruto or Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei.**

_  
I walk this empty street  
On the Blvd. of broken dreams_

**Dreams...**

**Dreams of Peace**

**Dreams of Happiness**

**Life in Konoha**

**Life with Sasuke...**

**Ha.**

**That was a laugh.**

_  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk alone_

**The Forest wasn't asleep it was dead, and there was blood everywhere. She saw red. Just red. Nothing else. The only movement in the forest was her own, as she passed through the blood.**

I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk a...

**All alone, No one else. Just herself and her pain that no one could ever understand.**

My shadows the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me

**Sasuke-kun...**

**Naruto...**

**Kakashi-sensei...**

_  
Till then I'll walk alone_

**I don't need anyone anymore.**

Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah  
Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah

I'm walking down the line

**The line between lawful citizen, ninja and exiled criminal with a bounty on her head.**

**The line between silent slavery or freedom.**

**The line between my sanity and my self-preservation.**

_  
That divides me somewhere in my mind  
On the border line of the edge  
And where I walk alone  
_

**This is crazy... but it's my responsibility I can never become one of them, I never want to be one of the leaf, the murderers.**

_  
Read between the lines of what's_

**Can't anyone see this horrible government?**

_  
fucked up and everything's all right_

**Can't anyone see the agony?**

_  
Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive_

**Alive, but dead... **

_  
And I walk alone  
_

**It's the only way to survive... alone.**

_  
I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk a... _

My shadows the only one that walks beside me

**I need nothing else.**

_  
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating_

**Is it? I can hardly tell...**

_  
Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me  
Till then I'll walk alone _

Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh  
Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh

I walk this empty street

**Empty of all but myself, but I am so filled with emptiness maybe it doesn't even count.**

_  
On the Blvd. of broken dreams_

**Sasuke-kun...**

_  
Where the city sleeps_

**Dead...**

_  
And I'm the only one and I walk a.._

**Alone...**

My shadows the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me  
Till then I'll walk alone!

**He headed back, for her... And she was leaving for her sanity. **

**Will their paths cross?**

_And thats the end of chapter one! If anyone has any requests please let me know, thanx!_

_PREVIEW OF CHAPTER TWO:_

_"I no longer bear any connections to the leaf, and I have come here seeking to destroy what is left. If any of you doubts my words, I will prove it with my fist." _

_"If she is going to be one of us she will have to learn a more graceful fighting style."_


	2. Join the Akatsuki

Ok! For those of you who remember, this was the preview:

_"I no longer bear any connections to the leaf, and I have come here seeking to destroy what is left. If any of you doubts my words, I will prove it with my fist." _

_"If she is going to be one of us she will have to learn a more graceful fighting style."_

So here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own the poem below so steal it and I'll tear your spine out!

* * *

_When I wanted Love,_

_I got Hate,_

_When I needed a Break,_

_I got more Pain,_

_In this world, everything's turned around,_

_When you want to stay lost, you're gonna be found.

* * *

_

Tired and exhausted, Sakura yawned as she exited the bar. Upon arriving at the Mist she had found that the Akatsuki were already long gone. It had taken some work, but she finally had the information she needed.

_"So they're headed to the sound now?" _She thought. Folding her arms, she pondered over her next move.

"Aa. Arigato, I'll be leaving now," a deep voice within the bar said. She froze.

_That voice..._

It sounded almost exactly like...

_Turn around..._

A voice inside pleaded.

_It must be him!_

No, this had happened too many times. A similar hairstyle a similar fighting style, a similar voice, but it was never Sasuke.

She shook her head and continued walking on.

As she turned a corner, Uchiha Sasuke stepped out of the bar.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he headed down the road.

"The situation in the Leaf is worse than I thought." mused Sasuke thoughtfully.

He continued on in the direction of the Leaf, the village she had just left. She continued on in the direction of the Sound, the village he had just left.

If she had turned around. If she had waited. If she had seen his face and he had seen hers. Would things have turned out differently?

Now they were headed in opposite directions.

* * *

After a long and arduous journey, Sakura had found them. They were all together, surprisingly. Sakura knew that ordinarily the Akatsuki travel in groups of two.

They were a few miles away from Otogakure, meaning that they probably had just been planning to leave.

Apparently, the Akatsuki had just captured their newest victim. They had all filed into a cave that was covered in various seals and barrier jutsus.

Sakura could just break in and demand that they let her join the Akatsuki, but that was so ridiculously barbaric.

She sighed. "You never get a second chance at a first impression." she reminded herself. She bathed in the river and changed into her one spare change of clothes that she had been saving for this occasion.

Then she lay on the riverbank and looked at the sky, resting her body but not her mind as she waited for dawn.

She was very consciously aware of the scars on her forehead protector. It seemed the same scars were embedded on her heart.

She would never be at peace until she had completely disconnected herself from the Leaf and from Danzo.

She closed her eyes, planning strategies, but was careful not to fall asleep.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke kneeled on a tree branch. Night had fallen and Konoha was wrapped in a mystical silence.

However, the Konoha he was in was nothing like the Konoha he had left several years ago.

The Ninja Academy had been demolished. The training areas were littered with corpses no one had bothered to pick up. But most irritating of all was the face of that tyrannical man sitting right next to the face of the 1st hokage.

In a gesture of conceit, he had named himself better than all previous Hokages. What an ass.

Sasuke looked up suddenly as a certain blonde-haired boy headed down the cracked street.

He narrowed his eyes. "Naruto..."

Naruto seemed oblivious of his presence and walked down the street wearily. Sasuke watched his friend's form impassively. Inside though, he was surprised and confused.

Naruto had changed so much; he seemed so tired, as if he had grown tired of living. He walked as though waiting for some ninja to jump out and kill him, if only to bring him some peace.

How could he have changed so much?

Sasuke followed the young chuunin from the treetops. Naruto headed into the same apartment he had lived in for as long as Sasuke had known him. Naruto unlocked the door and headed inside. Sasuke jumped onto the roof and entered the house through Naruto's bedroom window.

Without turning on any lights Naruto headed straight to his bedroom, sighed and collapsed facedown onto his bed. Sasuke watched the young boy calmly, waiting for him to move.

Sasuke realized he had to say something before Naruto fell asleep.

"You've changed, Usura Tonkache." He said coolly.

Nothing could have had a greater effect. Naruto bolted upright and shouted "Sasuke-teme?!"

He reached blindly for the light on his nightstand and once it turned on, he noticed that sure enough, there stood Uchiha Sasuke standing in the corner of his room.

Sasuke had grown taller, but he had lost none of his paleness and somewhat feminine features. (HAHAHA!) His hair was still raven black in sharp contrast with his pale complexion.

Naruto had grown taller as well and his eyes reflected a deep maturity that had not been there before.

"Sa- Sasuke teme..." Naruto clearly was incapable of saying anything else.

Sasuke pulled out a chair from Naruto's desk and sat down. "How are you, Naruto?" asked Sasuke in an attempt to clear him from his shock.

"I- I'm fine." Naruto said he suddenly frowned and looked up at Sasuke.

"Why did you come back?" he asked.

Sasuke stood up again, put his hands in his pockets, and walked to the window.

"Did you join that organization? Shiroi Kanashimi?" He asked quietly.

"Why?" asked Naruto.

"Things have changed, Konoha has become a dangerous place." Sasuke said in explanation.

"You were worried?" asked Naruto, his eyes widening in surprise.

"I had no reason to stay in the Sound." Sasuke said simply.

Naruto lowered his gaze... "Yeah, come back when there's nothing you can do anymore." He said bitterly.

Sasuke turned to Naruto with narrowed eyes.

Naruto stood up, "Come on, I'll make us some ramen and then we can talk."

* * *

Sakura stared at the sky that was brightening steadily. She stood up and tied her hair in a bun with some senbon needles.

She put on her gloves and prepared herself for battle.

She made sure that she had left no trace of where she had stayed and then left the area.

Observing the barriers, she sighed and began to undo them all. There was no more time to waste.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei became an exiled nin," said Naruto looking at his ramen bowl.

"He said that I was smart for figuring out my way of the ninja so early in my life." Naruto looked up at Sasuke to see his reaction but Sasuke's eyes were expressionless.

"He said that he had gotten so old and only now he was beginning to look for his way of the ninja. He said that he would never be able to look himself in the face if he stayed working under Danzo. And just like that, he cut a scar into his forehead protector in front of me and Sakura-chan and then he left."

Naruto said.

Sasuke stayed quiet. They ate ramen for a while. Eventually Sasuke spoke up. "Did you join that organization then? Shiroi Kanashimi?"

Naruto shook his head. "Shikamaru and Ino are in charge and Shikamaru forbids me to join."

"Hm." said Sasuke with a nod.

"He's just trying to spare me the shame of being the only one not to join." said Naruto disgustedly.

Sasuke raised a brow inquisitively.

"Think about it, Sasuke. Can someone who joined a rebel organization ever become Hokage?" Naruto demanded.

"Either way," said Sasuke. "It's good if one of you stayed on the good side of the government. They just chose that one to be you."

"Tch." said Naruto disbelievingly.

"And Sakura?" asked Sasuke.

"What?" asked Naruto, looking up in surprise.

"Sakura." repeated Sasuke. "Did she join that organization?"

"Sakura-chan" said Naruto "She..."

* * *

Barriers undone. Sakura stepped back for the easy part. Closing her hand into a fist, she pulled it back and with one punch left the giant stone wall in shambles.

She smirked.

_They definitely heard that one...

* * *

_

"Sakura-chan... she left a few weeks ago," said Naruto.

Sasuke raised a brow... left?

"Word has it that she..." Naruto trailed off.

* * *

Careful not to let her guard down, she headed deep into the cave, she turned into one of the caverns where she sensed a lot of chakra and stepped into a large well-lit area of the cave.

Nine Akatsuki members stared down at her.

* * *

"She what?" asked Sasuke when Naruto failed to continue.

"They say that She..." He went on.

* * *

"What do you want?" asked a man with a strange hood and goggles.

"I'm here to..." Sakura replied.

* * *

"They say she wants to... " Naruto said.

* * *

"Join the Akatsuki." Sakura said.

3 Akatsuki members' jaws dropped in shock. The other 6 examined her carefully.

"Which village are you from?" asked a member with a lot of blonde hair covering half his face.

"That is irrelevant. It is in the past." She replied.

The Akatsuki disliked her more and more.

"She is Haruno Sakura from Konohagakure," said Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura looked towards him with a frown of distaste.

"She must be a spy." one Akatsuki member accused.

"I bear no connections to the Leaf." she said.

"She expects us to believe that?" asked one Akatsuki member.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Why is it difficult to believe?" she asked.

"Tch." said a giant fish-looking Akatsuki member (I think you can guess who this one is.)

"You're a girl." He said.

"A pretty girl." pitched in another Akatsuki member. It was not a compliment.

"The precious apprentice of Tsunade, why would you want to join the Akatsuki?" continued Kisame. (Come on, it's not like you didn't know who he was.)

Sakura punched the wall behind her. It cracked deeply for 10 meters in every direction.

"I no longer bear any connections to the leaf, and I have come here seeking to destroy what is left. If any of you doubts my words, I will prove it with my fist." She announced.

"If she is going to be one of us she will have to learn a more graceful fighting style." said Itachi.

* * *

"What?" said Sasuke.

"Word has it she wants to join the Akatsuki," repeated Naruto.

"Why?" demanded Sasuke vehemently.

"The same reason Kakashi left Konoha, and the same reason Tenten intentionally failed a mission and then killed herself!" shouted Naruto.

"Nobody can bear the Leaf anymore!"

Sasuke was in shock.

Sakura...? Join the Akatsuki...?

"No one can take it anymore Sasuke. No one can find any reason to keep on living." Said Naruto calming down.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "And you've been alone all this time haven't you, Naruto?" He asked.

Naruto said nothing.

"The idiot and coward I see before me can't possibly be the Naruto I know. What happened to the number one most surprising ninja?" asked Sasuke.

Sasuke looked out the window as Naruto boiled inside.

"We'll bring her back." Said Sasuke determinedly.

Naruto scowled at him "How can you say that?! It's impossible! You don't know what she's like! There's no talking to her now!" He exploded finally.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto, "And can someone who can't even save one of his friends ever become Hokage?"he asked.

Naruto Froze.

----

-------

------------

-------------------

------------------------

_When I wanted Love..._

Sakura was determined.

_I got Hate..._

She didn't need anyone, she was ready for anything.

_When I needed a break..._

She did not need the Leaf.

_I got more Pain..._

She would join the Akatsuki.

_In this world everything's turned around..._

Her emerald irises flashed dangerously.

_When you want to stay lost..._

_You're gonna be found..._

"We will definitely bring her back." Sasuke repeated, his onyx eyes darkening.

* * *

AN: hope you liked it! G2G now! 


End file.
